THE CB BLOG IS SPONSORED BY

A blog for advertising creatives in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. To pass on news or advertise on the blog, or to subscribe to Campaign Brief Australia/NZ or CB Asia, or The Work 06 Annual, email: michael@campaignbrief.com

Monday, October 08, 2007

CLARK AND DIAMOND DEPART CUMMINS' SYDNEY STARTUP

Amongst all the talk of a sale of Cummins & Partners to Nitro, Bettina Clark (left) and Carolyn Diamond (below left), who were only appointed joint creative directors of the fledgling Cummins & Partners Sydney office (an apartment in Woolloomooloo) four months ago, have left. The pair told CB they have quite a few options to pursue. Bettina Clark: 0402 917 711. Carolyn Diamond: 0414 496 781.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Cummins Melbourne general manager Amber Philips, who has been at the agency for several years, has been dismissed. Ms Philips was not available for comment but a close associate told CB that she is in the process of taking legal action against Cummins & Partners for unfair dismissal.UPDATE 11.10.07.... Cummins has sold to Nitro, Chris Clarke's mini agency group with offices in Shanghai, New York, London and Melbourne. Nitro takes a 50% stake in Cummins, which will be increased to full ownership by 2009. Nitro's Melbourne operation will be merged into Cummins’ Melbourne premises.

I'm sure everyone entered into the whole thing in good faith. Sometimes things just don't work out. Sean's a successful guy. He's tough to work with. He can be infuriating at times. Like a lot of CDs/agency principals sometimes his idea wins even if it's not great. But he is having a go and employing heaps of people in the ad industry. If you're going to bag him, that's cool. You should, however, have the balls to identify yourself. (Equally, Sean, if you're going to pat yourself on the back, you should name yourself, too.).

With all due respect when it comes to throwing stones there aremany factors to take into account. The size of the stone, the distance you are throwing. Not to mention the size of the target and things like wind speed and humidity. So before you be little the ancientand skilled craft of stone throwing how about you grab a few that lie scattered on the ground around this blog and try for yourself anonymous. If that is your real name

This is not Sean. But I reckon there are two sides to every story. He gives a lot to the industry and asks for nothing in return. Some of the stuff written here is just jealousy. And from what I know..crap Leave the guy alone. Who says there arent very real reasons why these things have happened?

It’s lovely that everyone seems so interested in what we’re doing in Sydney so here’s a quick clarification. The Sydney office of cummins&partners is a fully operational agency with account service, a creative department and a design studio. Feel free to call or drop in.

It's a shame the place sounds like it's getting a bit ugly. I worked there a while back, and while Sean could at times be overbearing, it was quite a fun place to work and occasionally get the odd good idea through.

Several people have alerted me to the blog story regarding our Sydney start up. And indeed the “update”.

I was quite surprised by a number of things.

Firstly the fact that this even made news. People leave agencies all the time.

And secondly, all the excitable comments that were made. Most of them silly. Some of them bitchy. And regrettably at time of writing this, all of them anonymous.

David Nobay drew attention to the cowardly nature of the blog, and I invoke his very powerful stance on this.

I can only liken the blog to road rage. In the safety of one’s car you can be angry, foul, violent and obscene because you are safe. You confront no-one, really.

The thrust of the story seems innocent enough. Two people have left our Sydney office. But to allow people to draw conclusions as to reasons why, was the more curious aspect.

I was not contacted by Campaign Brief to give my reasons, or indeed my thanks to the team who really tried their best in the first 4 months.

I wish them well in the future and endorse them as talented individuals.

As for the Sydney office, we will work hard to grow an exciting offering here. And I look forward to pitting our very best against some of the great agencies and practitioners in Sydney. But it takes nerve and it takes courage to make the tough decisions.

So thank you to all those who have expressed concern about the lopsided nature of the story… and most importantly for their willingness to talk about wanting work with us in the future.

Yes, the fact that this made news is fine, but there are so many other stories in our industry in Oz and abroad in Asia. I hope that CB does a better job in covering more stories from the entire APAC region, not just Oz.

Agree. CB only highlights movements/achievements of Aussies. Maybe it's due to the fact that they're the most insecure creatives in the world because of their neighbors just to the north (Singapore) kick their arse creatively. I'm sure we'll be seeing a 'Who's more creative in the region' post soon.

What I love about this blog site is that through all the bitching by the punk-ass, ink-stained, Fred Durst wannabe juniors and the alcohol-soaked and the gout-Ridden consultants,there are some brilliant comments recorded on this site.

Hey kids, there is a new post. Dump this one like a client that has decided to cut back on their advertising and spend more on getting good shelf postioning, and I'll see you next door. No posts there yet so a great chance to get in there and do ya thing.

Firstly, for the bitchy people who comment...get over yourselves. Cummins do good work and are good at what they do.

Secondly, that team is a great team (and nice ladies to boot) and will do well anywhere they go. Good luck.

Thirdly, Sean has a very successful business and is a great creative. Sometimes we may not like him but you cannot go past the fact that the guy knows what he is doing, has some great people with him and deserves applause for doing well.